Prostate news article, July 2006
LINKS BETWEEN AN ENLARGED PROSTATE AND OBESITY AND BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVELS Article in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (July 2006) Forwarded by: John Anderson, CEO Prostate Research Campaign UK |
An article in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (July 2006) reports on the research done by Dr. J. Kellogg Parsons, University of California, on the links between Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) and obesity and high blood sugar levels.
This is particularly relevant with an aging population. Men become more susceptible to BPH as they grow older and the findings of the research indicate that the current epidemics of obesity and diabetes will exacerbate this problem in the future.
The Research team examined the association between BPH and factors such as obesity, blood glucose concentration and diabetes, with MRI measurements of prostate volumes in 422 men aged between 27 and 84 years. Their report noted that:
- 22 % of those examined had enlarged prostates.
- Men with enlarged prostates were heavier and had a higher age-adjusted Body Mass Index (BMI) than men without enlarged prostates. Each 1-point rise in BMI was associated with a 0.41 cubic centimetre increase in prostate volume.
- Very obese men were more likely to have an enlarged prostate, with 3.5-times the risk compared with their normal-weight counterparts.
The Research team also noted that blood glucose concentration was also associated with the risk of prostate enlargement:
- Those with elevated glucose had 3-times the risk of having an enlarged prostate.
- Diabetics were more than twice as likely to have prostate enlargement compared with men without diabetes.